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Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Vatican City, 2 September 2015 (VIS) –
The family as the conduit of faith was the theme of Pope Francis'
catechesis during September's first general audience.

Francis remarked first that Jesus, both
in His words and His signs, frequently presented family bonds as an
example of our relationship with God. These bonds “within the
experience of faith and God's love, are transformed and acquire a
higher meaning, and are able to go beyond themselves, to create a
broader paternity and maternity, and to welcome as brothers and
sisters those who are at the margins”. To this purpose, the bishop
of Rome cited the Gospel passage in which Jesus responded to those
who said that His mother and brothers were seeking him outside: “Here
are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he
is my brother and sister and mother”.

“The wisdom of affections that cannot
be bought or sold is the finest quality of the family. It is
precisely in the family that we learn to grow in that atmosphere of
emotional wisdom. … When family affections are allowed to be
converted by the witness of the Gospel, they become capable of
unimaginable things, the actions that God works in history, like
those that Jesus achieves for the men, women and children he
encounters. A smile miraculously snatched from the despair of an
abandoned child, who starts to live again, explains to us God's work
in the world better than a thousand theological treatises. One man
and one woman, capable of risking and making sacrifices for the child
of others and not only their own, tell us things about love that
scientists are not able to understand”.

“The family that responds to Jesus'
call restores the rule of the world to the alliance of man and woman
with God”, Francis emphasised. “Let us imagine that the helm of
history (of society, the economy, politics) is finally passed to the
alliance between man and woman, so that they might govern with a view
to the generation to come. The themes of the earth and the home, the
economy and work, would play a very different tune!”

“Effectively, the alliance between
the family and God is called upon to oppose to the community
desertification of the modern city. But our cities have been
desertified through a lack of love, a lack of smiles. There is so
much entertainment, so many things to pass the time, to make us
laugh, but there is a lack of love. The smile of a family is able to
conquer this desertification of our cities. And this is the victory
of family love”.

“No form of economic or political
engineering is able to substitute the contribution families make”,
he concluded. “The project of Babel builds lifeless skyscrapers.
The Spirit of God, instead, makes deserts bloom. We must leave the
towers and strongholds of the elites, in order to frequent once more
the homes and open spaces of the multitudes, open to the love of the
family”.

Vatican City, 2 September 2015 (VIS) –
After today's catechesis the Pope launched a new appeal for peace, on
the anniversary of the end of the Second World War.

“During these days, also in the
Middle East, we commemorate the end of the Second World War”, he
said. “I renew my heartfelt prayers to the Lord of all so that, by
the intercession of Our Lady, today's world may never again
experience the horrors and the appalling suffering of similar
tragedies. But it experiences them! This is also the enduring desire
of all peoples, especially those who are victims of the various
current bloody conflicts. Persecuted minorities, persecuted
Christians, the madness of destruction, and then those who produce
and deal in arms, weapons soaked with the blood of so many innocent
people. No more war! It is the fervent cry that, from our hearts and
from the hearts of all men and women of good will, rises up to the
Prince of peace”.

Vatican City, 2 September 2015 (VIS) –
Yesterday afternoon in St. Peter's Basilica the Holy Father presided
at the liturgy for the first World Day of Prayer for the Care of
Creation, instituted by the Pope on 10 August and which will from now
on be celebrated by the Catholic Church on 1 September, as in the
Orthodox Church. Numerous pilgrims and representatives of the Roman
Curia participated in the liturgy, and many people and communities
throughout the world have responded to the Pope's appeal to renew our
vocation as custodians of creation.

The homily was pronounced by Fr.
Raniero Cantalamessa, preacher of the Papal Household. After citing
the biblical sources, from Genesis to the Book of Psalms, which
describe the relationship between the human being and the world
created by God, Fr. Cantalamessa went on to focus on the figure of
St. Francis of Assisi and his “Canticle of the Creatures”, which
the Pope chose as the basis for his encyclical “Laudato si'”,

“The saint's words, which define the
sun as beautiful, the brother fire as beautiful, the stars as bright
and beautiful, are an echo of that 'And God saw everything that he
had made, and behold, it was very good', from the account of
creation”, he commented. “The fundamental sin against creation,
that precedes all others, is not listening to His voice, condemning
it irretrievably, as St. Paul would say, to vanity, to
insignificance. … Francis shows us the way to a radical change in
our relationship with creation: it consists of substituting
possession with contemplation. He describes a different way of
enjoying its fruits, which is contemplating them instead of
possessing them”.

“Certainly, Francis did not have a
global and worldwide vision of the ecological problem, but rather a
local, immediate view”, he added. “He thought about what he and,
eventually, his brother friars, could do. Here too, however, he
teaches us. A slogan currently in vogue is 'think globally, act
locally'. What is the point in taking issue with those who pollute
the atmosphere, the oceans and the forests, if we do not hesitate in
throwing onto a riverbank or into the sea a plastic bag that will
remain there for centuries if no-one retrieves it; if I throw away
what I no longer want wherever I wish, on the streets or in the
forest; or if I deface the walls of my city?”.

“The protection of creation, like
peace, is 'handcrafted', as our Holy Father would say, starting with
ourselves”, he concluded. “Peace begins with you, as is often
repeated in the messages for World Day of Peace; similarly, the
protection of creation begins with you. It was what an Orthodox
representative affirmed during the ecumenical assembly in Basel in
1989 on 'Justice, peace and the protection of creation'. “Without a
change in the human heart, environmentalism has no hope of success”.

Vatican City, 2 September 2015 (VIS) –
The following is a list of Pope Francis' activities during the month
of August. It includes Angelus audiences, other pontifical acts,
telegrams, messages and other news. The activities are presented in
chronological order under the respective titles:

GENERAL AUDIENCES

6. The Pope returns to his reflections
on the family and refers to the situation of those who, following the
breakdown of their marriage, establish a new cohabitation, and the
pastoral attention they require. The Church, he says, knows that this
situation contradicts the Christian sacrament, but with a mother's
heart she seeks the good and the salvation of all, without exception.

12. The Holy Father begins a series of
reflections on three aspects of family life: rest, work and prayer,
starting with the first. The divine commandment to pause in our daily
tasks reminds us that man, as the image of God, is a master rather
than a slave to work. He urges us to free ourselves of our obsession
with economic gain, which undermines human rhythms of life and denies
us the time for what is truly important.

19. Francis speaks about work and the
family. The management of work, he says, requires a great social
responsibility that cannot be left to the mercy of the logic of
profit or of a deified market, in which frequently the family is
regarded as a burden or an obstacle to productivity.

26. The Pope dedicates his catechesis
to prayer in the family and reiterates that, despite the difficulties
of finding time in family life, always busy and with many things to
do, prayer enables the family to find the peace to face necessary
things, and to discover the joy of the Lord's unexpected gifts, the
beauty of rest and the serenity of work.

ANGELUS

2. In the first Angelus of August, the
Pope recalled that Jesus speaks of going far beyond the immediate
satisfaction of material necessities and instead invites the faithful
to satisfy instead their “hunger for life”, the hunger for
eternity that only the Lord is able to satiate, as He is the “bread
of life”.

9. Following the multiplication of the
loaves, Jesus explains to the people the meaning of this sign and
takes as a starting point the experience of hunger and the symbol of
bread to reveal Himself to the people and invite them to believe in
Him. “In His flesh, that is, in his concrete humanity, all God's
love is present, which is the Holy Spirit. Those who allow themselves
to be attracted by this love go towards Jesus and towards faith, and
receive from Him eternal life”.

After the Angelus prayer the Pope
mentioned that sixty years ago, on 6 and 9 August 1945, the atomic
bomb was dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a
tragic event that urges us to pray for peace. He also expressed his
concerns regarding the economic crisis in El Salvador, which has
increased the suffering of the population.

15. On the Solemnity of the Assumption,
Francis emphasised that that great things the Almighty realised in
Mary speak to us of our journey in life and remind us of our
destination. Following the Marian prayer, he invited the faithful to
pray for the inhabitants of the city of Tianjin in northern China,
where a series of explosions in the industrial zone claimed many
victims and caused significant damage.

16. Francis devoted the Angelus of the
third Sunday of August to the Gospel of John the Evangelist that
presents Jesus as the living bread from heaven, and explains the
purpose of Mass, emphasising that the Eucharist is a memorial, or
rather a gesture that makes real and present the event of the death
and resurrection of Jesus.

23. The Pope concludes the reading from
the sixth chapter of the Gospel of St. John, which ends with the
discourse on the bread of life, pronounced by Jesus after the miracle
of the multiplication of the loaves and the fishes. The enthusiasm of
the multitude wanes as His words on His flesh and blood as food and
drink, alluding to His imminent sacrifice are judged unworthy of the
Messiah. Jesus' words, says Francis, always challenge us; in
relation, for instance, to the spirit of the world and of
worldliness.

On the eve of the national holiday in
Ukraine, Peter's Successor launched a fresh appeal for peace in the
country, afflicted for some months by a conflict that has worsened in
recent weeks.

30. Superficial adherence to the law is
not enough for good Christians, Francis emphasised, commenting on the
Gospel of St. Mark which describes the dispute between Jesus and
various Pharisees. We run the risk, he states, of considering
ourselves to be better than others for the mere fact of following
rules and customs, even if we love our neighbour. The literal
fulfilment of precepts is fruitless if it does not change our heart
and does not translate into concrete acts: opening ourselves up to
the encounter with God and His Word, seeking justice and peace, and
assisting the poor, the weak and the oppressed”.

After reciting the Angelus prayer, the
Pope mentioned that yesterday in Harissa, Lebanon, the Syro-Catholic
bishop Flaviano Michele Melki, martyred during a terrible persecution
of Christians, was declared blessed. “Today too, in the Middle East
and in other parts of the world, Christians are persecuted. May the
beatification of this bishop martyr instil in them comfort, courage
and hope”.

Finally, he denounced the tragic
humanitarian crisis of migrants, many of whom recently lost their
lives in Austria and in the Mediterranean, and he underlined the need
to prevent these crimes, an affront to the entire human family.

LETTERS, MESSAGES AND TELEGRAMS

4. Publication of the letter, written
in Latin and dated 21 May, in which the Holy Father appoints Cardinal
Raul Eduardo Vela Chiriboga, archbishop emeritus of Quito, Ecuador,
as his special envoy in the Tenth National Eucharistic Congress of
Peru (Piura, 13-16 August).

6. Publication of the Pope's letter to
Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, dated 25 July, in which
the latter is appointed as papal legate to the celebration of the
fifth centenary of the evangelisation of the Democratic Republic of
East Timor (15 August).

The Holy Father writes to Bishop Maroun
Lahham, auxiliary of Jerusalem of the Latins and patriarchal vicar
for Jordan, on the situation faced by refugees from these countries.

7. Publication of the letter, dated 2
June, in which Pope Francis appoints Cardinal Paul Poupard, president
emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Culture, as his special envoy
to the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the founding of the
Cathedral of Strasbourg, France (15 August).

8. Publication of the letter, dated 20
May, in which the Holy Father appoints Cardinal Josip Bozanic,
archbishop of Zagreb, Croatia, as his special envoy to the
celebration of the third centenary of the Shrine of Our Lady of
Miracles held in Sinj, Croatia (15 August).

10. Message to Cardinal Ricardo
Blazquez Perez, archbishop of Vallidolid, Spain, and president of the
Spanish Episcopal Conference, for the European Youth Meeting (Avila,
5-9 August) on the theme “In troubled times, strong friends of
God”, commemorating the fifth centenary of the birth of St. Teresa
of Avila.

With a letter to Cardinal Peter Kodwo
Appiah Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council “Justice and
Peace”, and Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council
for Promoting Christian Unity, the Pope institutes the World Day of
Prayer for the Care of Creation.

18. Telegram of condolences to Cardinal
Peter Erdo, archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, Hungary, for the death
on 17 August of Cardinal Laszlo Paskai, O.F.M. Cap., archbishop
emeritus of the same archdiocese.

19. Message to Brother Alois and the
Taize Community for the 75th anniversary of the founding of the
Community on 20 August, in the year of the centenary of the birth of
founder Brother Roger Schutz and the tenth anniversary of his death.

Message to Bishop Francesco Lambiasi of
Rimini for the 36th Meeting for friendship between peoples, held in
Rimini from 20 to 26 August.

20. Telegram from Cardinal Secretary of
State Pietro Parolin, on behalf of the Holy Father, to His Majesty
Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand, following the terrorist attacks
on the Hindu Erawan shrine and the Sathorn district of Bangkok.

22. Publication of the letter, dated 25
July, in which the Holy Father designates Cardinal Angelo Scola,
archbishop of Milan, as his special envoy to the Mass in Bobbio,
Italy on 30 August for the 18th International Meeting of Columbanian
Communities, on the 1400th anniversary of the death of St.
Columbanus.

23. Message to Bishop Pier Giorgio
Debernardi of Pinerolo, Italy, on the occasion of the Synod of the
Methodist and Waldensian Churches, in Torre Pellice, Italy, from 23
to 28 August.

29. Publication of the letter dated 11
July in which the Holy Father appoints Cardinal Francisco Javier
Errazuriz Ossa, archbishop emeritus of Santiago del Chile, Chile, as
his special envoy to the Sixth National Eucharistic Conference of
Mexico (Monterrey, 9-13 September).

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

1: The Holy Father appoints Msgr.
Alberto Ortega as apostolic nuncio in Jordan and Iraq, at the same
time elevating him to the dignity of archbishop.

He also appoints Professor Alfredo
Pontecorvi director of the Department of Health and Hygiene of the
Governorate of Vatican City State. The new director is professor of
Endocrinology and director of the School of Specialisation in
Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases at the Agostino Gemelli Teaching
Hospital.

4. Bishop Fernando Jose Castro Aguayo,
auxiliary of Caracas, Venezuela, is appointed as bishop of Margarita
in Venezuela.

6. The Pope accepts the resignation of
Bishop Joseph Kunnath, C.M.I., from the pastoral care of the eparchy
of Adilabad of the Syro-Malabars, India. Bishop Kunnath is succeeded
by Fr. Anthony Prince Panengaden, former protosyncellus and parish
priest in the same eparchy.

He erects the apostolic exarchate for
the Syro-Malabars in Canada and appoints Fr. Jose Kalluvelil as the
first exarch, elevating him to the dignity of bishop.

8. Appointment of Cardinal Andre
Vingt-Trois, archbishop of Paris, France, as the Holy Father's
special envoy to the consecration of the new cathedral of the diocese
of Creteil, France, to be held on 20 September 2015.

The Pope appoints Professor Fabrizio
Soccorsi, former head physician of hepatology at San Camillo
Hospital, Rome, as his personal doctor.

Cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley, O.F.M.
Cap., archbishop of Boston, U.S.A., is appointed as the Holy Father's
special envoy to the ceremony for the 450th anniversary of the first
founding mass of the city of St. Augustine, Florida, U.S.A.

14. The Holy Father appoints Fr. Paolo
Bizzetti, S.J., as apostolic vicar in Anatolia, Turkey, elevating him
to episcopal rank. The new apostolic vicar was formerly rector of the
Patavina Residentia Antonianum.

22. Cardinal Daniel Fernando Sturla
Berhouet, S.D.B., archbishop of Montevideo, Uruguay, is appointed as
the Holy Father's special envoy to the Fifth Eucharistic Congress of
Bolivia (Traija, 16-20 September).

The Pope appoints Cardinal Paul Josef
Cordes, president emeritus of the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum”
as his special envoy to the concluding ceremony of the First National
Eucharistic Congress of the Czech Republic (Brno, 17 October).

24. The Holy Father accepts the
resignation presented by Bishop Gilberto Delio Goncalves Canavarro
dos Reis from the pastoral ministry of the diocese of Setubal,
Portugal, upon reaching the age limit, and appoints Fr. Jose Ornelas
Carvalho, S.C.I., superior general of the Priests of the Sacred Heart
of Jesus (Dehonians) as the new bishop of Setubal.

26. The Holy Father extended the
eparchy of Mandya of the Syro-Malabars, India, to include the six
civil districts around Bangalore in which Syro-Malabar faithful are
resident: Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, Chickballapur, Kolar,
Ramnagara and Tumkur.

The Pope gave his assent to the
election by the Synod of the Syro-Malabar Major Archiepiscopal Church
of Fr. Antony Kariyil C.M.I., former director of the Rajagiri School
of Engineering and Technology, Cochin, India, as eparchal vicar of
Mandya of the Syro-Malabars.

28. Appointment of Fr. Jean-Pierre
Cottanceau, S.S.C.C., as apostolic administrator of the archdiocese
of Papeete, French Polynesia.

AUDIENCES

5. Audience with the ambassador of
Nigeria, Francis Chukwuemeka Okeke, on his farewell visit.

7. The Pope receives in the Paul VI
Hall the members of the Eucharistic Youth Movement.

8. Audience with Cardinal Angelo Amato
S.D.B., prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, during
which Pope Francis authorises the promulgation of the decree
regarding the martyrdom of Servant of God Flaviano Miguel Melki, born
in 1858 in Kalaat Mara, present-day Turkey, and bishop of Gazireth of
the Syrians, killed in hatred of the faith in Gazireth, present-day
Turkey, in 1915.

12. Audience with the ambassador of
Hungary, Gabor Gyorivanyi, on his farewell visit.

29. Audience with Cardinal Marc
Ouellet, P.S.S., prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.

4. The Pope meets with several thousand
altar servers from more than twenty countries, participating in an
international pilgrimage to Rome on the theme “Here I am! Send me”.

11. The Pontifical Council “Justice
and Peace” makes public the theme chosen by the Holy Father for the
49th World Day of Peace (1 January 2016): “Overcome indifference
and win peace”.

20. The Holy Father chooses the theme
for the 102nd World Day of Migrants and Refugees (17 January 2016):
“Migrants and refugees challenge us. The response of the Gospel of
Mercy”.

OTHER NEWS

14. The Holy See and the Democratic
Republic of East Timor sign an agreement defining the legal status of
the Catholic Church and regulating various matters including Catholic
marriage, places of worship, religious education.

28. Press release regarding the raising
of flags of Observer States in the central headquarters and offices
of the United Nations.

28. The Holy See Press Office issues a
communique on the death at home, by natural causes, of Msgr. Josef
Wesolowski, former apostolic nuncio.

29. The Holy See Press Office announces
that, following the death of former nuncio Josef Wesolowski in the
evening of 27 August, the Office of the Promoter of Justice, in the
fulfilment of its required functions, has ordered that a post-mortem
examination take place, and has appointed a commission of three
experts to perform the task, coordinated by the Giovanni Arcudi,
professor of forensic medicine. The first conclusions of the autopsy,
carried out in the afternoon of 28 August, confirm the natural cause
of death, due to cardiac failure. In the forthcoming days, the Office
of the Promoter of Justice will obtain the results of the laboratory
tests performed by the Commission.

30. Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro
Parolin sends a letter on behalf of the Holy Father to Bishop Gianni
Ambrosio of Piacenza-Bobbio, Italy, on the occasion of the 18th
International Meeting of the Columbanian Communities on the 1400th
anniversary of the death of St. Columbanus.